SANS NewsBites is a semiweekly high-level executive summary of the most important news articles that have been published on computer security during the last week. Each news item is very briefly summarized and includes a reference on the web for detailed information, if possible.

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THE REST OF THE WEEK'S NEWS

Google Enhances Gmail Security (March 25, 2016)

Google has made some changes to Gmail to protect users from malicious links and state-sponsored attacks. When users click on suspicious links that arrive in email, Gmail will display a full-page warning them that visiting the site could harm their computer. Users will be able to choose to click through to the site. Google will also display a full-page warning when it believes state-sponsored attackers have targeted users. Google's blog post also notes the company's participation in submitting a draft IETF specification for SMTP Strict Transport Security, which aims to "ensure TLS encryption works as intended." -http://www.scmagazine.com/google-enhances-gmail-security-to-thwart-malicious-links-state-sponsored-cyberattacks/article/485604/ Google Blog: -https://security.googleblog.com/2016/03/more-encryption-more-notifications-more.html[Editor's comment (Northcutt): Gmail is starting to become the de facto mail client in the same way Internet Explorer was the standard browser 15 years ago and it is good to see thought leadership in email security. - From the blogpost: "In the 44 days since we introduced it, [visual element to notify user recipient does not support encryption ], the amount of inbound mail sent over an encrypted connection increased by 25%. We're very encouraged by this progress! Given the relative ease of implementing encryption and its significant benefits for users, we expect to see this progress continue."

FBI Seeking Help with Ransomware Investigation (March 28, 2016)

Reuters obtained a copy of a confidential "Flash" advisory, dated March 25, 2016, in which FBI asked companies and security experts for help in its investigation of ransomware known as MSIL/Samas.A. This particular malware tries to encrypt data on an entire network rather than encrypting data on an individual computer. -http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-ransomware-idUSKCN0WU1GB[Editor's Note (Honan): Ransomware, like all other malware, should be prevented using multiple layers of protection such as those outlined in the SANS Critical Security Controls. With regards to Ransomware The Computer Incident Response Center Luxembourg (CIRCL) have released an excellent guide on "Proactive defenses and incident response" -https://www.circl.lu/pub/tr-41/]

John Pescatore was Vice President at Gartner Inc. for fourteen years. He became a director of the SANS Institute in 2013. He has worked in computer and network security since 1978 including time at the NSA and the U.S. Secret Service.

Shawn Henry is president of CrowdStrike Services. He retired as FBI Executive Assistant Director responsible for all criminal and cyber programs and investigations worldwide, as well as international operations and the FBI's critical incident response.

Suzanne Vautrinot was Commander of the 24th Air Force (AF Cyber) and now sits on the board of directors of Wells Fargo and several other major organizations.

Ed Skoudis is co-founder of CounterHack, the nation's top producer of cyber ranges, simulations, and competitive challenges, now used from high schools to the Air Force. He is also author and lead instructor of the SANS Hacker Exploits and Incident Handling course, and Penetration Testing course.

Michael Assante was Vice President and Chief Security Officer at NERC, led a key control systems group at Idaho National Labs, and was American Electric Power's CSO. He now leads the global cyber skills development program at SANS for power, oil & gas and other critical infrastructure industries.

Mark Weatherford is Chief Cybersecurity Strategist at vArmour and the former Deputy Under Secretary of Cybersecurity at the US Department of Homeland Security.

Stephen Northcutt teaches advanced courses in cyber security management; he founded the GIAC certification and was the founding President of STI, the premier skills-based cyber security graduate school, www.sans.edu.

Dr. Johannes Ullrich is Chief Technology Officer of the Internet Storm Center and Dean of the Faculty of the graduate school at the SANS Technology Institute.

William Hugh Murray is an executive consultant and trainer in Information Assurance and Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Sean McBride is Director of Analysis and co-founder of Critical Intelligence, and, while at Idaho National Laboratory, he initiated the situational awareness effort that became the ICS-CERT.

Rob Lee is the SANS Institute's top forensics instructor and director of the digital forensics and incident response research and education program at SANS (computer-forensics.sans.org).

Tom Liston is member of the Cyber Network Defense team at UAE-based Dark Matter. He is a Handler for the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center and co-author of the book Counter Hack Reloaded.

Jake Williams is a SANS course author and the founder of Rendition Infosec, with experience securing DoD, healthcare, and ICS environments.

Dr. Eric Cole is an instructor, author and fellow with The SANS Institute. He has written five books, including Insider Threat and he is a founder with Secure Anchor Consulting.

Mason Brown is one of a very small number of people in the information security field who have held a top management position in a Fortune 50 company (Alcoa). He leads SANS' efforts to raise the bar in cybersecurity education around the world.

David Hoelzer is the director of research & principal examiner for Enclave Forensics and a senior fellow with the SANS Technology Institute.

Gal Shpantzer is a trusted advisor to CSOs of large corporations, technology startups, Ivy League universities and non-profits specializing in critical infrastructure protection. Gal created the Security Outliers project in 2009, focusing on the role of culture in risk management outcomes and contributes to the Infosec Burnout project.

Eric Cornelius is Director of Critical Infrastructure and ICS at Cylance, and earlier served as deputy director and chief technical analyst for the Control Systems Security Program at the US Department of Homeland Security.

Alan Paller is director of research at the SANS Institute.

Brian Honan is an independent security consultant based in Dublin, Ireland.

David Turley is SANS operations manager and serves as production manager and final editor on SANS NewsBites.

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